Surface of the Sun
by inky001
Summary: A commended warrior, assigned to guard a sheltered noble on a quest to search for an ancient relic finds herself entangled in an assassination plot. But a darker, more sinister secret lies close to the surface, waiting to be discovered.
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: Hello readers! I am happy to share this story of mine with you all. As this is my first fanfiction, there will be a lot of things that I need to improve on. Feedbacks are very welcome, and I will take every comment to heart. Because English is not my first language, there will be grammatical errors in my writing. I am trying to proof-read my chapters at least twice before I update. But seeing I'm the only one who is editing it , I would love for a dedicated beta-reader to evaluate my story before I post _

_I took my inspiration from the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. In the story will contain elements of how I see the world. _

_I do NOT own any of the characters nor locations in World of Warcraft, Blizzard does. I only name ownership to the original characters I created. Please don't sue me! I just started…_

Prologue

The night was cold. Darkness engulfed over the small town that rested under a thick layer of mountains. The chilling breeze blew harshly against the trees, yet it brushed harmlessly against the wooden walls of the small houses that scattered about the township. Within the town, a calm serenity covered the sleeping citizens. The only disruption that pierced through the quietness was the rhythmic galloping of five horses. The animals carried their riders down the long village road until they stopped before a small cottage near the outskirt of the town. Dismounting from the horses, four cloaked riders stood expectantly and waited for the fifth. The last rider shifted his cloak before muttering something inaudible behind his shroud. Moving alone towards the door of the cottage, the fifth rider lifted his hood and knocked lightly at the wooden entrance.

Montellus opened the door slightly and peeked through the crack into the cold darkness outside. But instead of seeing darkened silhouette of tress, the alchemist's eyes caught sight of a pale man staring back at him.

"Evening Montellus, I hope I am not visiting too late for your liking." The rider began politely.

"Certainly not, magistrate Tarrin. Please, come in."

The Magistrate lowered his head and moved his tall frame into the warm cottage. Taking his dark cloak off, Tarrin examined his surroundings. The living room was kept in pristine condition, with the exception of a large alchemy table to the far end of the room, where old tombs laid scattered on table and floor. A small fire place burned quietly behind a dining table. Tarrin turned his gaze towards the table and focused on a figure sitting in a wooden chair. The woman had skin as dark as night, her large eyes watched him with hidden fear. Inside her hands was a small white dress.

"Would you like some wine… or tea Magistrate?"

"Tea would be great Montellus, and thank you." Tarrin smiled politely at the man and casually moved himself to sit in the chair opposite the woman. "How are things here? Are you finding the same comforts that you were accustomed to back at home?"

Monetellus bowed respectfully as he busied himself around the small kitchen. "Yes sir, I am more than comfortable and forever grateful of the hospitalities that this town has given me." Setting the fresh kettle on the stove, the man added more forlornly, "although sometimes I do miss Gilneas in my dreams."

"I am glad it is in your dreams. You must remember you are a fugitive of your homeland. You should be clearly aware of the punishment your people give to those who leave the great wall." The Magistrate stated plainly.

"Of course sir. I apologise sir."

Tarrin laughed lightly and smiled reassuringly at the dark woman, "No need to apologise Montellus. I am here to help you; I look after my subjects well." He lifted his leg over his other and leaned back into the chair, "However, I also expect the best from my subjects. How is my research going?"

Montellus turned from the kitchen slowly and rested his backside on the edge of the cooking bench. "I am making remarkable progress sir… however…" the man gave a worried look to his wife before turning back to the magistrate. "I have also discovered…many unforeseen results."

"Oh? Tell me about them."

Montellus coughed awkwardly, "This… magic you're tasking me to dwell into, it is not just any fel-magic. It's something completely different. It is ancient, and powerful beyond anything I've seen. It is… uncontrollable."

"Everything can be controlled dear Montellus, you just need to find the key."

"Not this my Magistrate." The alchemist urged carefully, "this magic is pure corruption. It will rot and taint the soul of the wielder. I… I will wish not to continue in studying this."

Tarrin sighed defeatedly, "You're scared, and do not want to taint yourself. I understand. What have you found out so far."

Montellus twitched his fingers nervously, then quickly rushed over to his alchemy table and rummaged through the mess. Eventually he found a piece of scrunched paper and held it before him. "I've managed to create a stable channelling idol that can partially transfer the magic into the user safely. It lightens the corruption of the magic while maintaining its potency."

"So one can use the magic as long as the idol is with him?"

The alchemist nodded, "I fear I have created a device that would eventually doom us all." The man added sadly.

Tarrin lifted himself from his seat and walked towards Montellus. "That is not for you to worry about. Give me the idol and you will never hear of it again." The magistrate snatched the paper out of the alchemist's hands and glanced down at it. "What is this?"

"That is my resignation as the town alchemist. You will also find inside my request to relocate my family to Redridge." He straightened himself with more confidence, "I no longer wish to affiliate myself, and my research with your dark ambitions."

Tarrin's eyes darkened, his lips twisted upwards into a slight sneer. "I gave you all the funding you needed to research this and you think you can just cut your ties with me and run away without giving me anything? I don't think so Gilnean." Laughing deeply he scrunched the paper in his hand into a tight ball. "Now, give me that idol. I know you have it, otherwise I wouldn't be here."

Montellus lifted his chest and stood defiantly, "You are certainly mistaken; I do not have it. I have tried many times to create the idol, but have failed at every attempt. I have given up on this matter. Now leave my house, you are not welcomed anymore."

"I do not take kindly to threats Montellus, especially from someone whom I've put in too much money and effort into keeping alive." The Magistrate hissed angrily. "I am more than happy to tear this entire house down to find that damned idol if I have to."

Montellus paused, and thought deeply before continuing in a calm and steady tone, "I may have exiled myself from all my family back in Gilneas when I ran away to pursue my alchemistic ambitions, but I have found a new one here. I love them with all my heart, and will NOT abandon them to the mercy of a power-hungry noble obsessed with dark magic. You might as well kill me now, because I am not giving you the idol."

Tarrin took a moment to let everything set in, then shrugged his shoulder dismissively and gave the pale skinned alchemist a resigned smile. "Full of honour till the end, but a bit too late I say." Turning to the door he picked up his coat from the hanger and dressed himself all the while eyeing the dark woman sitting by the table, "You have made this tailor a promising wife; she must enjoy her comfortable life with you. I heard you even sired a half-blooded child with this bitch. It is unfortunate for you they will have to die." The magistrate knocked on the door, and four heavily armed guardsmen entered the house, "but fortunate for me, I rather like your wife. And I am going to enjoy tasting darker skin for a change" With a devious smile, Magistrate Tarrin moved towards the Alchemist once more.

Screams of pain and agony roared through the quiet night. The sound startled the slumbering birds, and caused them to fly away in alarm. Several candles from nearby houses lit in response, but they were quickly flickered off, for the villagers feared the unstoppable wrath that came down upon Montellus' family that silent night.


	2. Chapter 1

17 years later.

Revy sat in the plain chair outside the Alliance War office. Her fingers played with the sheet of paper in her hands. It's been a week since she has returned from her war duties against the Death-aspect dragon, Deathwing. Being stationed in the Twilight highlands had been relatively intense for Revy. The Twlight Hammer's forces had been extremely difficult to defeat. The commanding division at Highbank has been trying daily to extend Alliance influence deep into neighboring greenlands. But with every step taken by Alliance soldiers, one step would be taken by the Twilight cultist, and another by the Horde presence up in the north. Kurdan Wildhammer constantly asked for more support from King Wrynn in Stormwind. And to respond to the Dwarf's request, two division of standard soldiers were shipped to towards Highbank two weeks ago. In addition, a band of elite Alliance pledged individuals were also sent to assist the fight against the Twilight Hammer in any way possible. Among them was Revy, a Warrior valued by the Alliance for her skills. Revy sighed softly. She hated the fame that was given to her. She was more athletic than others because she trained before her enlistment into the war effort. But people seemed think she was blessed by god and forget it was her magically imbued equipment that gave the heroic attributes. Without her armor, she was human. She remembered watching other "Heroes" prancing around in their armor like they were born like gods with annoyance. Wandering how can a piece of metal can change people so much.

_You must be blessed by the light! _Revy pouted as the memories of the soldier who said that to her came into consciousness. I trained tirelessly just like everyone else. I worked my way through tedious and dangerous missions like everyone else. I was just lucky enough to be able to acquire better equipment for my contribution.

However, as much as she hated to admit, she did feel that she was different somehow. Not anyone could just go and help the true heroes of Azeroth defeat the abominations within the Icecrown Citadel. Not every individual could duel against scourge fiends within the Ice palace in order to clear the path for others to reach the Lick king and confront him for the crimes he has done. Revy grinned lightly, wherever the true heroes went, she had been one of many on the side who had helped clear the path. In a way she was as important as the ones who dealt the death blow to various enemies of Azeroth. _Well, maybe I'm just a little different_, _more the reason for me to put my skills to good use._

Not even a day has passed since her return from her efforts against the Twilight Hammer when a messenger came to the door of the family she had been homesteading while in Stormwind. The messenger had found Revy collapsed on her bed with her armour half taken off and decided to best not to disturb her and simply left the message on the table next to the bed.

Rereading the assignment paper that she found when she woke up for the eleventh time, Revy shifted annoyingly in the plain chair. _Not a day's break. _She folded the paper in half, then with several more folds the paper was transformed into a beautiful swan. Lifting the creation up to her head she examined her work with mild contentment. _won't you just fly away my pretty little assignment and give me a break?_

Suddenly the door to the War office burst open, a tall bearded man with a rock stern face appeared. Revy jumped up in surprise. Her attention now focused on the aged man next to the door. The man eyed female warrior and the paper swan in her hands intently, which made Revy anxious and she quickly unfolded her duty request form and nervously smiled back. With a scowl he motioned with his hand to for her to come in. without waiting for a response he turned and headed in first, all the while muttering under his breath_ Damn kids these days._

"Age?"

"22"

"Name?"

"Revlise"

"Family name?"

"I do not possess on sir"

"What are you, a slave?"

"…No sir, I was a servant for most my life"

"Yeah yeah, don't care what you call yourself. What's the name of your pledge household?"

"The Langford family of Redridge"

Duty Officer Hale looked up from his record book and narrowed his judgmental eyes at the warrior before him.

"The Langfords, do they enjoy sending their servants to fight for the Alliance in this time of need?"

Revy lowered her head slightly in respect, but inside she was growing more agitated at this Officer by the minute.

"For the records sir, Mister Langford is well beyond the age to commit to the war efforts. His only child, is currently attending mage academy. She is not fit to fight at the moment. The Langford has donated half their fortune to the Alliance to show their allegiance." Revy paused momentarily, "I volunteered myself to the Alliance. No one pressured me into it."

Officer Hale leaned back in his chair, his eyes scanned up and down Revy's form. The warrior was definitely not of the Langford blood. Her skin was of a light brown shade and her body hugged tightly around the simple leather tunic and trousers she currently wore. She had the thin body of a dancer; experienced muscles with very little fat around her bones. Hale sneered at her, unable to comprehend how a slim girl like her could be an effective soldier. Looking up he focused on her face. Bangs of dark hair covered her forehead and the side of her face while the rest was fashioned in a low ponytail that ran past her shoulders. Her brown eyes sat atop a bed of darkened eye bags, but they displayed perseverance of a skilled combatant. Hale could also see a hint of submissiveness; probably the result of a life of servitude. Hale watch as the woman twitched her mouth uncomfortably under his inspection; hardened mouth lines stretched prominently around her mouth, revealing the evidence of a life of stress and strenuous work.

Hale grinned, she was no alluring courtesan. But she possessed an air of modesty and naturalness that held its own beauty. She was easy on the eye, and Hale liked that. More so now that he noticed her becoming unsettled by his change in expression.

"Well aren't you a little adventure. Moving from a slave to a soldier, and now a decorated soldier" Hale remarked while playfully rocking on his chair.

Revy tried to be respectful, but she couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the condescending officer, "I was not a slave, I was paid for my services."

Hale shrugged his shoulders and let the chair drop him back before his desk. "Well I'm sure you were paid for house chores, maybe some more personal services too." Hale lowered his head into his record book again, not before catching Revy's agitated face.

"Anyways Revlise of Langford, I see you've just came back from your tour of duty in the Twilight highlands. But we've just received a rather interesting assignment. Came straight from the noble's court and marked as high priority." Hale shuffled past a few pages in his record book and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

"Apparently, as war loomed over our shoulders, the nobles have decided that they too should help us poor normal folks." Without looking up, Hale picked up the sheet of paper with his right hand and flung it towards an assistant by his side.

"Their ever-so-grateful help comes in the form of sending their sons and daughters into our ranks of soldiers" Hale continued as the assistant picked up the paper and handed to Revy. "Now normally these noble youngsters are so filled with Stormwind's finest delicacies and luxurious they think slaying a common rat was a quest of the ages. So we just enlist them to guard duties at some guard post, away from any actual danger of course." Revy examined the piece of paper given to her as the officer's speech restarted once more. "But! It just so happens that one certain noble thinks his epic rat killing skills are inadequate for the mundane duty we gave him. So he has set upon himself to accomplish something bigger. Long story short, he found some ancient map from this Father's library which led to some artifact and he's set his little Canal crab brain into finding it." Hale finally looked up Revy, who was busy reading the content of the paper. "Since his family is a highly influential force here at Stormwind, we need to make sure he is safe. So you're commissioned to be his bodyguard."

Revy's finished reading just as Hale said Bodyguard, her face showing reluctance, "Can we just not allow this noble to participate in his quest?"

"Of course not! This is a quest of great importance! He must complete it" Hale laughed with a sarcastic grin on his face. "But no, we have little power in denying nobles of…well anything. If they say bow, we have to say how low. You should know that part quite clearly" He finished with a wicked grin.

Revy glanced at the assistant next to Officer Hale, and he returned her an affirmative nod. Turning back to Hale she asked "Shouldn't this be suitable for a group of soldiers? I do not feel confident in protecting the noble by myself."

"The noble has personally requested a competent individual to protect himself. He didn't want a group of soldiers seeing he did not want unnecessary surveillance. My superiors mentioned your efforts in Northrend and now against the Twilight Hammer cultists. So I made the request." Hale's grin faded as he turned back to his work. "Anyways, you have no say in this, the assignment has been given. You'll be meeting him tomorrow by Cathedral at dawn. There will be a few others traveling with him. But your focus is the noble, make sure he return alive." Officer hale finished with and gave a dismissive wave with his hand.

Revy saluted the officer with strained respect and headed for the door. When she was out of the room she looked down at the paper again, this time focusing on the name at the bottom. She sighed deeply, then closed her eyes in exhaustion.

_I guess I'll get some rest for the rest of the day. And tomorrow…I'll be in the service of noble Vikare._


	3. Chapter 2

It was nearly noon, the sun had already been shining vibrantly for the entire morning and yet there was no sign of the noble. Revy prided herself in her patience but she was slowly growing agitated by the prolonged waiting. Finding it more difficult to idly Lean against the wall of the Cathedral, she decided to check her equipment once more. Revy was dressed in reinforced light-grey leather tunic and trousers. She had left the customized set of plated armour she wore in combat at home, mainly because it would wear her down in the travels. She shifted the various paddings around her arms and legs. _It didn't give as much protection, but I can move a lot faster this way_. Kneeling over she reached for the short sword leaning against the wall. Pulling it out of the scabbard she examined the weapon; it was a shorter design of the blade used by regular Alliance infantry, small an inscription on the length of the blade indicating that it has been enchanted with for keenness. Sheathing the blade Revy wrapped the strap of the scabbard around the numerous buckles around her belt. Once the scabbard rested firmly behind her, just above her thighs, she reached out for the Stormwind shield she managed to acquire from the barracks and hoisted it over her shoulders. The shield was much lighter and smaller than her normal Earthguard, and did not require magical strength to wield it.

Satisfied that her weapon and armour was set, she kneeled and dug into her Traveler's bag. Having felt the shape of an apple she let out a content gasp and pull it out and took a small bite. She was halfway into another a second bite when a looming shadow covered her bent form.

"Eating our travelling rations before we even started? That is most unwise." A confident voice boomed behind her.

Revy stood up hastily, then turned to face the speaker with the bit of apple she chewed off still in her mouth. There was no doubt that the newcomer was the noble. His body was covered in lavishly decorated plate and a paladin hammer rested on his right shoulder. Underneath the armour his skin was pale, with a small hint of the sun's tan around his face. Revy's eyes slowly moved to his face; it was covered in short light-brown hair and his bright green eyes blasted her with zealous confidence along a soft row of freckles around his cheeks. His mouth was shaped in a wide grin as he started to speak again. "You must be the Warrior assigned to assist me in this quest. I am Vikare, Son of the House of Rocheforten."

Revy quickly swallowed her bit of apple and bowed respectively, instinctive she replied "Yes my lord, I am at your service."

Vikare smiled and waved his hand. "No need for the title Warrior, I will leave my heritage for the duration of this journey and become a common adventurer. Plus that title may draw us unwanted attention." He brushed his hair with his left hand, "Attention is a very stalkish friend of mine."

Revy winced at the noble's lame remark, but decided to change the subject. "If you're ready my lord…Sir Vikare, we must be going, we are well delayed already."

"All in good time, I have requested my fellow companions to also meet here, they will arrive shortly. While we wait, why don't we familiarize ourselves with each other." Vikare eyed Revy thoroughly. "I did not expect my strong and able warrior to be …. so female! How can I call you?"

Revy stared blankly at the shiny pillar before her. _So female? What does that even mean? _"..I am Revlise sir."

"Revlise! Why you are not related to Relina are you?" Vikare seemed to extract that response from Revy's stunned face. "Guess not. What a relief! For one moment I thought you were related to that vixen of a noble." He said with a heartily laugh at the end.

Revy stood silently before the noble, unable to think of anything comprehensive to say to him. After a moment Vikare caught notice of the silence, and found himself also unable to repair the awkwardness between them. The pair stood still in complete silence as the people in the cathedral square continued with their life. Vikare's eyes wandered around the environment, and suddenly lit up as they fixed on something from afar. "Ah here they come! And not a moment too late I say." With that he rushed away, leaving a petrified Revy alone.

Moments later the noble returned with three individuals on his left. The four lined up neatly before Revy before Vikare spoke in his eager tone.

"Revlise, allow me to introduce to you my fine cohort that will join us in our journey. First we have my dear cousin Maris" he pointed at the man to his immediate left. Revy turned her head to look at the man. He was dressed in a blue robe with crossing belts around his waist. He held an expensive looking metal staff with an enormous red jewel sitting at the tip. His looked young, most likely not even twenty, but he had already developed that same look of noble confidence Icrain had perfected. His brown hair sat in a wild and unkept mess at the top of his head, something Revy found strange for a noble.

"He is a prodigy of magic! Greet the warrior Maris." Maris looked at Revy, and waited expectantly for something. Revy paused momentarily, then clicked and remembered that nobles expected others to bow first. She gracefully bowed before the boy and he routinely returned the gesture.

Vikare laughed "My Maris is a bit of a noble snot, but don't blame him, he's been in a mage tower for most of his life." Maris gave Vikare an annoyed looked with that statement.

"Next! We have my father's most trustworthy Hunter! He has been with our family for many decades, he is Grimwin Stoutbrand." Vikare motioned to the dwarf next to his cousin.

Revy turned to look at the dwarf, who was more a drunkard to her than a skilled tracker. His short body was covered by weathered leather armour. And his long rough brown-red beard covered half of that. His hair ran down the back of his neck with a small pony tail resting above the mane. His teal eyes looked hazed and unfocused, most likely from the bottle of rum he was holding in his hands. Around his shoulder was a long rifle. It was ornamented with a pair of bear twisted in combat around the barrel.

Revy bowed towards the dwarf, who seemed to unable to lean forward without falling over, so decided to just nod in response.

"And lastly, not certain not least, I present the ever agile, Theylandu, a courageous Night Elf who will accompany us until his contract terminates!" Vikare waved his hand and looked at Revy in expectation.

Revy narrowed her eyes as she examined the elf. He seemed to have a constant scowl and his golden eyes pierced back at her gaze. His tall elven body was garbed in dark leather with shades of green in padded areas around his arm and legs. Several throwing daggers were stored in the belt that ran down his chest. Around his waist were two beautiful elven styled daggers, each ornamented with leaves and vines.

_I cannot believe this noble hired an Assassin to protect him. The irony in that is just too much._

Revy bowed politely at the elf, who just looked at her, his eyes masking his emotions. Afterwards Vikare took the opportunity to speak to his companions.

"Now that we are properly introduced, I will now inform you of our journey." Vikare reached for a pocket on his belt, and pulled out a crumbled sheet of paper. "Legend said there once was a mace that was blessed by a mighty paladin of the old. It is said to grant the wielder exceptional strength and holy power. Unfortunately, its power has diminished through the ages. However!" Vikare flapped the map before him, "even with its waning power, it is still a powerful weapon, both in our hands and those of the enemy! So we must retrieve it before it is found by our foe!"

Maris shouted gleefully at the prospect of an adventure. Grimwin and Theylandu simply nodded in acceptance. Revy was finding it difficult to accept. _I am going on a journey with an idealistic noble accompanied by his sheltered cousin, a drunken dwarf and a shady mercenary in order to find an age old mace whose power may not even exist anymore? _Revy tried rationalizing whether she should just desert this assignment and just take the military punishment. But knowing it would probably be presented by Officer Hale, it would probably be something really unappealing.

With a deep breath she nodded in acceptance and asked "Where are we headed Sir Vikare?"

Vikare responded with his usual confidence, "Western plaguelands my dear warrior."

Revy took a defeated a sigh as she followed the four men towards the docks to board their ship.

_This is going to be a long journey._


	4. Chapter 3

Revy sat next to the table in her small cabin aboard the ship sailing for Menethil harbor. Her eyes stared down at the content inside the cup she was holding. A small portion of wine remained and it rocked softly against the movement of the ship, relaxing her. She had stayed in her cabin for the majority of her time aboard the ship. She enjoyed the privacy, it reminded of her time when she would clean the Langford mansion at night, nothing but her thoughts to calm her after a long day of servicing the family. But recently she has found that such peaceful solitude was becoming increasingly difficult to come by. She was rarely fully alone when she was stationed in military duty. People always seemed to want to talk to her, something Revy found really peculiar. She did not see herself as an interesting person. And she preferred to remain quiet and just listen to her colleagues than participate in the conversation. But it seems that even if she didn't talk, others would just come and start talking. It was something Revy could never figure out the reason behind. So instead, she would listen politely then excuse herself from them.

And once again, she is surround by people who wants to talk. It was fine with the Elven rogue who just disappeared once he boarded the ship, but the mage and dwarf seemed to always try to bring her into their conversation. Revy smiled lightly at that thought. Conversation is possibly the wrong word, more like they always try to bring her into their argument so she could decide who was right. Revy has found that Maris was indeed a spoiled little noble. He constantly complained about the luxuries in his tower that he now did not possess, and Grimwin's drunkard teasing of Maris about forgetting to pack his "magic nappies" only helped to irritate the mage more. The two would eventually get into an argument over the slightest things and continue till it drove Revy crazy.

Leaning back and stretching her arms she made a large and unchecked yawn. Feeling tired from the day's event she decided to rest on the bed. She rose from her chair and was about to head for her bed when a knocked sounded from the door.

Revy slowly opened the door and left it so there was just enough room for her to peek half her face out. Vikare stood on the other side with two cups in his hands. "Care for a late night drink Revlise?" his smile shining through the dimly light corridor.

Recognizing the noble Revy instinctively straightened herself and widened the gap of the door. She peered down at the two cups, and found the invitation rather intruding. "It is late sir, and I believe that calls for resting, not drinking." She bowed slightly and tried to close the door on him, but he noble seemed to not notice the clear rejection and moved forward to squeeze through the gap. Revy stumbled backward as Vikare walked nonchalantly into her cabin. He walked to the center of the room and scanned the cabin. Upon seeing her small cup on the table he remarked, "Drinking alone will make you age quicker, a gnomish alchemist told me that." He turned and handed a cup to Revy who was still hiding behind the door.

Taking the cup and closing the door, Revy stood before Vikare as a servant would before her master when he found something unsatisfactory. Again she found herself staring at wine in her cup, but this time the soft rocking of liquid did not calm her.

"I came to have a talk" Vikare started, "You seemed to be rather quiet for the short duration of time we have been together. Is something troubling you?" he finished with a sip of his beverage.

Revy looked up at the tall noble, "No sir, I am just reserved in nature."

The answer did not seem to satisfied Vikare's curiosity, "you do not have anything you wish to speak of? No question regarding our venture? Or of our companions?"

"I am under orders to accompany you and your companions, not to ask questions." Revy replied in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Ah so you do have questions, but you are not in a position to say," Vikare made his trademark grin and waved his hand as if he had a wand "I now remove any obligation of silence you have and permit you to speak freely."

Revy tried to hide her annoyance. _Does he never take NO for an answer? "_With all due respect sir, I do not wish to share my thoughts."

"Why not?"

"Because I simply do not wish to."

"There must be a reason why you won't. Have I offended you in some way?"

Revy sighed in defeat, and moved to rest her cup on the table. "You have not offended me; I just do not see the point in telling you now that we are sea-borne and can only go ahead with the quest."

Vikare extended his arms and tilted his head back dramatically, "But there is a point, and more of a point now that we ARE sea-borne."

This time Revy was unable to hide her frustration. She walked next to the noble and in the most polite tone she could manage, "I do not wish to speak of it. That is the end of the conversation sir. Please leave, I need to rest." With that she headed for the door and opened it for Vikare.

Vikare watched Revy in silence, obviously thinking of some form or comeback. But having found none, he shrugged his shoulders, drank his wine and exited her room. Revy gently shut the door and rested her back on the wooden frames as she released a sigh of relief. She turned her head and spotted the wine cup Vikare left for her. Walking briskly up to the table she grabbed the cup and downed it instantly, then grimaced at the sudden rush. _I forgot what nobles were like. Come on girl, just stay calm, keep that court jester alive, and bring him back to Stormwind. _She replaced the cup onto the table, and then leaned over to blow out the candle, bringing complete darkness into the cabin.


	5. Chapter 4

_The man's sweat glistening body moved roughly against her body, the smell of men filled the small wooden house and the screams of pain filled the ears. Revy's child size hands were held tightly by one of the bandit. Hey eyes unable to sway from the horrific sight before her; on the wall her father's corpse dangled on the multiple swords that had pierced his chest. Below him, the mother's mutilated body held in place as the leader moved raped her. Her screams of pain drowned by the laughter of men around her. Revy tried to cry to her mother, but she was too far away. The man continued to push into her mother, rocking his and her body in process. Suddenly the moment became faster, and faster until both bodies rocked so fast that they felt like ragdolls being thrown against each other. Then all movement stopped. The scene inside the small wooden house froze in time. Revy panted, confused at the sudden pause. Then the man's head suddenly turned, his brown eyes looked straight at the child. And his scarred mouth cracked to form a croaky laugh, a sound that rang repeatedly in her head._

Revy woke suddenly with a jolt, her head covered in sweat. Her chested heaved continuously and she tried to calm herself with a few deep breaths. Having her pulse under control she took a final deep breath and dropped back into her bed. _I haven't had that one in a while. And it was so intense this time. _Revy lay on her back and stared at the wooden ceiling. It's been a year since she had that nightmare. It used to haunt her daily as a child, but as she grew up it occurred less frequently. And for a period last year it didn't appear at all. But now that it has returned, it felt more intense than ever. Closing her eyes Revy tried to recall the images in an attempt to confront it. But as soon as the image of that man appeared before her, standing and cracking that smile, her eyes jumped open, her body quickly shrivelled into a small ball and her pulse quickened once more. Even after so many years, that man still haunted her psyche. The image of him was enough to turn Revy into a traumatized child._ What made it come back? Why did it come back? _Revy held her slender legs tightly, waiting for her mind to settle down. Feeling more assured she pushed herself out of her bed and headed towards the washing basin on the table. She slashed the cool water onto her face and watched her reflection in the mirror; her eyes were surrounded by the usual tired looking eye bags. Revy pinched at the darker shading of skin under her left eye and frowned at its unattractiveness. No matter how much she slept or rested, the woman could not cure that look of tiredness from her skin. She had previously tried to cover it up with cosmetics, but eventually gave up and accepted the dark rings as a constant feature of her face. But the dark tone of her skin helped in blending out much of the bag. Stripping herself off her sweaty night clothing, Revy Walked towards the closet and found a fresh set of clothing. She dressed herself quickly before heading for the door. She tried to forget about the dream, but she knew that it will be harder than just not thinking about it.

Revy entered the dining hall aboard the ship. It by far the largest room on the ship and was filled with several long wooden tables. Scanning the room Revy could see a large variety of crewmembers dining their breakfast. Each table held around five members, with several tables scatted around the corners of the room. In the middle sat a singular table with no chairs surrounding it. Above it sat numerous plates of food; preserved meat, bread, and a few bowls of fresh fruits. Guessing that it was the buffet table Revy made her way towards it and scanned the food in front of her with eager interest. Picking up a wooden plate she gathered two slices of bread, a thin slice of preserved meat, some small tomatoes and a pear.

Turning away from the food selection Revy examined the room again for an empty seat. Without her mind's consent, her eyes fixed on the table that seated a Dwarf, a Night Elf and two Humans. She let her eyes rest on them for a few moments, taking in the site before her. Grimwin seemed to be having a eating contest against himself, stuffing preserved meat and bread down his void of a mouth like there was no tomorrow. Theylandu was the complete opposite, content on just chewing on his piece of bread at an abnormally small pace. The two human on the other hand, were having a conversation that Revy couldn't out the words of, their food seemed relatively untouched.

Deciding it was still too early in the morning to be dealing with the family issues of her surrogate companions, Revy moved to a table in the far left corner with several empty seats and only two crewmembers and sat herself down. It was somewhat quieter here Revy thought, probably because she was near the side of the ship and the calming crash of the sea was more audible.

Picking up the two slices of bread and sliding the preserved meat between them she took a bite of her sandwich. It was dry, but the meat held a surprisingly amount of flavour. Taking another bite Revy casually scanned the room; the crews were still enjoying the last of their food. The dwarf was still stuffing his face and the Elf still chewing on that poor piece of bread. Even the human has started eating by himself. _Wait Maris is by himself? Where is… _before she could even finish her thought, a loud slam sounded to her right. Revy jumped slightly as she turned and was greeted by Vikare slamming his plate down and sat in the empty chair on the right her.

"Good morning Revlise, Lovely morning isn't it? I can even feel the sun on my face_!" _He chanted to her as he settled down and looked at her with an energetic smile.

_Sun on his face? We're inside the ship! _Revy gave a slight bow of her head before continuing to chew on her sandwich.

Vikare caught sight of the sandwich Revy was holding and pulled back in an exaggerated shift. "Why are you eating that? We have a great journey ahead of us; we can't be eating food like this with no nutrition! Here," he pushed his plate towards her, "This is OUR ration. We will need all the energy we can get, so I want you to be filled with the best food we have!"

Revy hesitantly glanced down at the plate before her, as if dreading what she would see. And she was correct to dread it. On the plate laid slices of marinated duck covered in an expensive whiskey sauce. Around the poultry were globes of mashed potatoes decorated with sprinkles of chives. The dish concluded with two slices of toasted pure-grain bread.

Revy shifted her glance at Vikare, who was greeting her with the face of an excited puppy. Gently she dropped her sandwich on her plate and lifted her left arm onto the table so they faced each other. With a deep sigh she began, "Sir Vikare, do you think we will be dining in marinated duck once our journey starts?"

Vikare pondered for a while "Well maybe not duck, but there could be a lot of potential beef deposits around."

"That is NOT the point… sir" Revy trying to keep her calm, "You need to grow accustomed to gaining the most nutrition out of the bare minimums. If you eat like this" motioning at the gourmet dish before her, "you will find it very difficult once we have to eat stale bread to not die of starvation."

"Well" Vikare paused as he dragged his plate back and began cutting into the duck with his knife, "all the more to take whatever you can get now." He took a bite of his duck and made a face as if he just ate the most delicious food in the whole of Azeroth. "Also, when you eat your stale bread, you can dream of this! So it won't taste as bad."

Revy's eyes tensed, and her left hand unknowingly started to grip her sandwich, slowly reducing it into a clawed mess. _This ignorant fool! I want shove that plate of duck into your face watch you choke on it!_ Turning away from him she wanted to have another bite of her sandwich, but finally realized the destruction she had caused to it. Sighing, she picked up the pear and bit into it. "Eat what you desire Sir, but I prefer my food simple,"

"Well you are what you eat I say" Vikare added casually as he ate, and this produced an irritated twitch from his female companion. "Anyways I came over because I was a bit concerned with last night. It was probably not my right to barge into a lady's room and demand her thoughts. I shouldn't have done that."

Revy looked at Vikare with a surprised look. _Is he apologizing? _After a while she nodded back at him, showing that she forgave him of his fault.

Vikare relaxed, then took another bite of his food, "Well I'm glad that is settled" and the two ate in silence. Time passed and Vikare found himself wanting to glance at her again. He shifted his eyes covertly to peak at Revy. She was wearing a simple pale cloth blouse. The front opened slightly in the shape of a "V" and it narrowed just above her chest. The hastily fastened strings at the front of the blouse were loose and it showed a tease of her small cleavage. Vikare continued to chew on his food slowly, pretending he was busy with this meal. But his mind was eating out the sight of the dark woman before her. In his life, he had rarely seen humans born with the darker shade of complexion. He had no idea where they originated from, but he had heard that there were communities of them down around Tanaris. Reinforced by the fact that most humans in Stormwind were of a fairer complexion, Vikare couldn't help but be intrigued by her looks. Her skin was colored with a light brown hue, and the long raven hair seemed to accentuate the exoticness of her skin. When she went in to take another bite of her pear, a bang of that raven hair escaped from her ear and fell on top of her eyes. She innocently shook her head and the strand flew away. Vikare grinned, here was a girl who was quiet and reserved, but most possibly deadly and ruthless in combat. She didn't flaunt her skills, merely just do what she was ordered to. It was such a change in personality of the noble ladies that orbited him back in Stormwind; so haughty, vain and shallow in taste.

Vikare's constant scrutinizing must have caught her attention because Revy turned to look at him. And upon seeing him ogling at her, and her chest, she shifted uncomfortably in her chair, and turned her back to him. Feeling slightly embarrassed he tried to add "Sorry, but I have never seen skin color as dark as yours. You're so dark, like uh… if Darkshire was portrayed as a person in the theatre!" he laughed nervously at his useless and utterly lame attempt to ease the tension. But seeing that it was not working, he decided it's best to just leave her alone.

As he walked away, a faint grin appeared on Revy's face. _Gods, how lame can he be?_


	6. Chapter 5

Vikare was exhausted. His legs felt like brittle sticks and the paladin armour he wore felt like he was carrying a rock golem on his back. The large hammer he heaved over his shoulder felt like his worst enemy, laughing at him as it sat happily on his tired shoulder. He turned to look at Maris, who was also sweating profusely through his elegant robe. Grimwin trailed behind the group, his ale reserve had run out as soon as they stepped out of Menethil harbor. Each step he took was followed by an annoyed grunt and it was clear that years of sitting in a tavern has affected his once great Hunter stamina. His pet wolf however, was patting quietly next to his master, apparently excited that he was finally travelling with its master once more. Vikare had wandered where the wolf has been since now. He asked Grimwin about it and he replied that the wolf didn't like the sea, so it ran along the mountains and met them at Menethil harbor. Theylandu was fairing quite well. His eyes still serious, and was working hard to pace himself. Vikare looked up at the slender figure ahead of him. Revy walked ahead of the three men, her pace not once showing tiredness. She held on the two shield carry straps that ran down her chest and routinely glanced around the horizon for any possible threat. Her breathing calm and slow, but her eyes were keen and sharp.

_What kind of inhuman stamina does she have!_ The group had been travelling non-stop since they landed at Menethil harbor this morning. After a brief stocking of supplies, they headed out for Thandol Span out in the north. From then onwards, Revy have refused to give them a break. Even when they were well into the Arathi highlands she continued to walk without any regard for them. Vikare has wondered whether this was how she decided to punish him for something he did, but he couldn't think of anything that could have been offensive. Not once did she turn to look at him, and it was beginning to annoy him.

After a few more painful steps, Vikare heard Maris finally snap next to him. "Hey commoner! We need a break."

Revy finally stopped, and turned to look at the panting mage, "We are nearly at Refuge point, we can rest there."

"No, I command you to stop now! Vikare hired you and so you have to listen to us."

Revy frowned, and Vikare could see a glistening of sweat also on her forhead. "Sir, we are not safe resting here. If the Hunter had been more attentive, he would have also spotted the concealed tracks that have been following us. We are not alone, we need to keep going." She finished and started to scan the mountainside again.

"How dare ye disrespect me tracking skills lass!" Grimwin puffed out as he caught up with the rest. "If there were stinkin bandits I would be able to smell them from miles away!"

"Or maybe it is your smell that attracts them to us."

"Oh ye be best be watchin that trap of yours lassy, No man likes a serpent tongue for a wife."

Revy rolled her eyes, not wanting to entertain a half hung-over, half exhausted dwarf. She turned to look at the group. Most of them were drained. Maybe she was pushing them too hard. Regardless it was not safe to stay here for long. Her attention then turned towards Vikare, who was now on the brink of collapsing on the ground because of his paladin plates. Sighing in defeat she turned and pointed at a tree across the bridge just before them.

"Alright, we will rest by that tree for a moment. But we must be going after that." Her comment was greeted by a relieved sigh from Maris and Grimwin. Theylandu simply nodded and Vikare gave a weary smile.

Under the shade of the tree Vikare fell onto the ground with a grateful sigh. He let his head rest on the rough bark and let the cool breeze brush across his sweat laden face. Maris and Theylandu sat on the mossy foothill behind the tree and Grimwin simply just collapsed face first into the grass.

Moments later a soft shuffling of grass signaled Revy's arrival. She sat a distance away from Vikare and looked at him blankly. "I suggest you leave your armor here sir."

Vikare grinned, "I was thinking of the same thing. I didn't expect it to wear me down so much."

Revy wanted to call him an idiot and tell him she forseen that coming, but decided it was not the best idea to insult a noble. Instead she just nodded in agreement and turned to face the vast plains. She was generally surprised by the amount of perseverance shown by the noble. She had bet against herself that the freckled Paladin would collapse into a heap of shiny metal on the ground well before they made it into the highlands. Yet he had continued on quietly without making a sound. Revy smiled to herself, looks like this stubborn fool have more to offer than just lame one-liners.

Several minutes passed and the group seemed to have regained their composure. Revy stood up and motioned the others to follow. With a long lengthy groan Maris lifted himself from the rock he was resting on, followed by Theylandu, who muttered something inaudible under his breath. Revy turn her eyes on Vikare, who have now removed his plate armor and stood in simple tunic and pants. He lifted his mace to his shoulder once more and smiled at Revy. The warrior then turned to Grimwin, who was now standing and staring intently at hills just before the bridge. Revy traced the dwarf's gaze and examined the hill herself. She narrowed her eyes and tried to search for something significant. At that moment the wind changed, and it blew from the hills towards the group. Revy's eyes widened, although her senses were not as keen, years of battle experience tugged at her mind. Something was wrong. She turned back at Grimwin who was surprisingly serious. His eyes were stern and his mouth tightly shut. Then, as if sensing her eyes, he spoke, as if a completely different person, "We got company lass, and I'm smelling quite a big bunch of eager bodies."

Quickly turning to the rest of the group Revy relayed the dwarf's message. Vikare turned tense; he gripped his mace tightly and moved it in front of him in a protective stance. Theylandu nodded at Revy and faded into the shadows, preparing an optimal ambush. Maris on the other hand was nervous. He shifted behind Vikare and held his staff ready. He didn't want to be a liability but his inexperience was beginning to overwhelm his senses.

Revy moved towards Grimwin, who now had his rifle in hand and checking the mechanics. "I'll cover the right flank with Argo lass. I can sense that elf is covering the other side. You just take care of those two dear nobles". And with that he walked casually behind a hill on the right side of the tree.

Revy loosened the strap on her shield and picked it up with her left arm. She can now clearly hear the sound of horses in the distance. Not too soon the silhouettes of the riders came into view. The warrior accessed the odds; eight riders. All of them rather small in form, suggesting that they were more likely bandits than a horde raiding party. As the riders galloped into clearer view, they revealed themselves to be bandits indeed. There were six Humans, with one Orc and Troll. As they approached Revy the riders formatted themselves into a shallow arc before her. Revy waited patiently before them. Her eyes were constantly scanning each individual and their equipment.

A large human at the center dismounted. He moved towards Revy with a sinister smile. His teeth were yellow and rotten, and his breath smelt horrendous.

"That be a strange group you travelin' with girl." The bandit leader slurred.

"We are simply travelling. There is nothing strange with that." Revy replied, remaining calm as she eyed the large man.

"Oh we know that already" the leader's eyes looked at Revy's body with unhidden desire. "We so happen to be travelin' too. And our destination… well we at ours now" He gave a nod at her, showing his interest at those behind her.

Revy watched the bandit leader as he tilted his head to look behind her. Upon seeing Vikare he gave him a happy wave. "See here girlie. We got some business with that noble over there. Now either you step away, or we will make you our business too" He turned back at Revy and licked his lips "and I have no second doubt about doing that, yes ser."

Revy's eyes narrowed. Her left hand now rested just above the sword that hung behind her. The shield on her left arm obscured her hand from the bandit. She was ready, and she could feel Grimwin cocking his rifle in the distance behind her. "You have no business with him. And if you look at him again, you will have a sharp piece of metal in your throat."

The bandit laughed. But his hand was already creeping towards the blade next to him. He had no intentions of letting her go; it was much more fun to have his way with the dark skinny girl before him. No way was he going to step down. His hand quickened towards his blade and drew it out before him. He aimed it at the woman before him, but his eyes widened in shock. The woman was already inches away from his face. Her blade gripped firmly in her right hand as she plunged it into his throat. Blood squirted out of the bandit as the force of the impact pushed him into the ground. His eyes locked on the woman in disbelief, and then dimmed into darkness.

Vikare could not believe his eyes. One moment Revlise was talking to the bandit, the next her left hand had shot the sword out of the scabbard for her right hand to grab and leaped forward until she was on top of the laughing man, pushing her blade in his throat. As soon as the body hit the ground, the warrior was in a crouched position, with her hand on the ground in front of her as if she was starting a race. Then, with the blink of an eye, she charged towards the bandit directly behind the dead leader. Jumping as she reached him, Revy slammed her shield into the man's head. The bandit's body flew out of the saddle and landed on the ground in a crunching thud. Grabbing onto the horse's reins, Revy climbed up onto the animal, and then steadied herself before hoping towards the bandit next to her. The man already had his sword out and lashed at the woman. But the sword was parried and his face received a hard kick from the woman's left knee. Landing on the second horse Revy thrust her blade into the chest of the man she just kicked, killing him before he hit the ground. The remaining five bandits pulled their horses together and charged at the woman. A loud shot sounded across the plains and the Troll's head burst in a cloud of red mist. His body fell backwards, but his lanky legs became tangled with the saddle, and his body dangled lifelessly on the side of his horse. Across from the Troll, a human decided to disengage and try to take the opportunity to charge at Vikare, but suddenly a puff of smoke exploded around him. Theylandu appeared behind the man with his large elven hands around the rider's throat. In one quick motion he brought his dagger up and sliced the soft flesh of the man's neck. A stream of blood oozed out followed by the choking sound of a man near death. Theylandu jumped off the horse and readied himself as another human bandit rushed towards him.

The Orc was furious. He knew that the Humans he travelled with were weak, but they didn't even put up a fight. He dismounted his horse and charged at the woman with his large axe. His roar alerted her of his presence and the warrior turned from her position on the saddle. Jumping off the horse she lifted her shield and waited expectantly for the strike. The Orc smiled behind his roar, the tiny female thinks she can block his strike with that thin shield. _I'm going to enjoy watching my axe slice that body in half! _He pulled back his axe over his head, then with all his might brought it down towards the woman with the small shield.

THUD!

The Orc stared at his axe in disbelief as it rested motionlessly in the dirt ground. The woman had disappeared. He lifted his head in confusion and saw something to his right. Turning his gaze he was greeted with the floating form of Revy. Just before the strike she had side stepped left, then with a spin she jumped up, preparing to execute a backhand slash towards the Orc. The blade travelled through the Orc's neck, almost dismembering the head entirely. Revy landed nearby, her composure calm and steady. She gave the dead Orc one last glance before rushing to assist Theylandu with a bandit.

Vikare watched as within seconds, the eight armored bandits were reduced to two. He turned to his left, and saw one of the remaining bandits struck down by the combined efforts of Theylandu and Revlise. His eyes focused on the warrior before him. Her eyes were cold and passive. Her blade drizzled with a mixture Human and Orcish blood. As he had expected, the quiet female that was always polite in front of him was a ruthless killer in battle. Vikare had heard about her combat expertise from Officer Hale, but seeing it firsthand was something he could not comprehend.

The remaining bandit stared at the massacre before him. The blood and mutilated corpses of his comrades now ripped all sense of calm from his mind. He watched as the dwarven sniper emerged behind the rock, then at the elven rogue who now started rummaging through the deads' pockets, but mostly at the woman who now looked directly at him, her short blade in hand. Fear rushed through his body and jump-started his muscles. He pulled on the horse and attempted to turn and flea. But something hard hit his back. He tried to use his left hand to grab it, but it was out of reach. The man tensed, the more he tried, the more he weary he became, until eventually, he gave up, and simply decided to rest on the horse.

Revy walked towards the still horse and pulled the sword she had thrown out of the rider's back. Cleaning and sheathing the blade, she pulled the man from the saddle, and walked the horse back towards the tree. _Why didn't we have horses when we were at Menethil Harbor? _She pondered as she reached the others. Grimwin helped Revy tie the five horses to a tree nearby and released the rest. Theylandu continued to loot the dead corpses. After a while Revy approached Vikare and Maris.

"Are you two alright?" she looked at Vikare with genuine concern.

"Yeah…yeah we're fine." Vikare managed to word out. He turned to check on Maris next to him and found him stunned, but in a completely different way.

"That….was…Amazing!" Maris' eyes lit up as he looked at Revy in sheer excitement. "Ms Revlise you were so skilled! You killed them like it was nothing!'

"Ms…?" Revy looked at the boy nervously, not sure how to respond.

Maris then proceeded to dramatically retell the entire encounter, with his arms flinging around to support his recount. Revy simply stood there, smiling lightly at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Come on, we have horses now, Refuge point should be closer now." With that, she saddled onto one of the horses and continued on with their journey.


	7. Chapter 6

The party arrived at Refuge point well after dusk. For the first night, the group simply rested and recuperated by themselves. The next morning Maris was up first and began to ask Grimwin about his travels, obviously marvelled by the dwarf's performance during yesterday's skirmish. Grimwin seemed all too happy to share his experiences, along with a jug of ale he had acquired from the innkeeper. Theylandu stayed mostly near tradesman named Hammon. He seemed to be content trading off the loot he had received from the bandits and a faint smile even appeared when he received his gold pouch. For the rest of the day he remained hunkered under a large tree, carving a figurine with a small dagger.

Revy had found the stay at Refuge point rather strange. Not once did Vikare approach her to start a conversation. She did not enjoy the attention, but the lack of company from the usually enthusiastic paladin ironically affected her calm. For the next few days of stay at Refuge point she rarely saw him. At one point she even purposely positioned herself outside his tent and pretended to be doing something. But the silhouette of him did not budge inside the tent.

On the last night before they were to head out again, Revy decided to confront the evasive Vikare. Unable to figure out his change in personality by herself she picked up two bowls of dinner and made for his tent.

"Sir Vikare, I thought you may want some dinner…" she dug through the folds of the tent and saw something inside that she had hoped she did not see in all her life.

Inside the small tent laid a half-naked Vikare, his arm spread across the bed-roll and his head flat on the pillow. Around him, a suspiciously abundant amount of empty flasks rested, spent of their contents. Revy gasped in shock and quickly put the bowls down and rushed to a semi-comatose Vikare. Pulling his face from the pillow made Revy let out a quick yelp. Blue substances dribbled slowly from the paladin's mouth onto a pool of goo on the bed sheets. Revy started to shake the man, calling his name at the same time. Slowly Vikare opened his eyes, and jumped away when he caught sight of a flustered Revy looking at him inches away from his face.

"What are you doing!" he screamed as he backed himself into a corner.

"Wha…I'm saving your LIFE!" Revy withdrew her hands quickly, equally surprised by the sudden burst in commotion.

"I have to be dying for that to be valid."

Revy looked at Vikare, stunned. _Do I even want to know what this idiot was doing? _"Well you looked like you were. What are you doing with these flasks, why are you drinking them?" She paused as her eyes watched a small glob of blue goo dropped from his mouth and onto his trousers. "Do you even know WHAT you are drinking?" she asked with her face now twisted in total disbelief.

Vikare observed the female before him. Never has he heard her so loud, or even with so much unmasked emotions. Wiping the blue goo from his mouth he leaned forward to pick up an old tome. "Of course I know what I am drinking, I made it." He motioned the alchemy book before Revy before dropping it carelessly, "I just didn't know the effects unless I tried them."

Revy stared as Vikare started to tidy the flasks around the tent. She scurried back to the edge of the tent as to avoid his sweeping arms. "So dying alone in a tent would be one of your satisfying results?"

"I didn't _DIE_." The paladin looked up at her in annoyance. "It was a paralysis potion. It was meant to be thrown and disable the muscular functions of enemies. I just had to test out the potency on myself." Vikare picked up a flask, and then sniffed the neck curiously.

Revy eyed the man before him, unable to comprehend how an idiot like him could be practicing such an intellectually demanding profession. "Are you sure you are alright?" Vikare turned away from the bottle, "Yes I am, what are you doing in here anyways? The quarters of nobility are strictly off-limits to commoners." He tossed the bottle into a heap of discarded flasks and sat cross-legged on a cushion opposite her.

Revy coughed awkwardly at the sudden formality. She leaned over to the entrance and picked up the two bowls "I thought you may need some dinner, seeing that you have not left your tent for quite some time." She finished as she handed a bowl to him.

"That is because the dinner here tastes horrible. How can soldiers fight effectively if their stomachs are filled with this horrendous muck?" He glanced down at the content of the bowl, "This…this isn't the normal regulation soup."

Picking up the spoon, Revy examined the small pool of broth, "No it isn't, I made this." She drank the soup in the spoon. "I thought seeing that this is our last night here, we could have something different. So I went to gather some ingredients and cooked a broth." She glanced at Vikare, who was examining intensely at his food. "Like you said, we can think of this when we eat something less appealing later." She mimicked his line in an attempt to cheer him up.

Satisfied that the broth was not poisonous or produced paralysis effects. Vikare took a sip. His face lit up suddenly. "This is great!" he lifted the bowl to his face and drank heartedly. Revy also continued with her own dinner. But she kept a watchful eye on Vikare, wary of him.

After a while Revy began to feel awkward at the growing silence. Normally she wouldn't even try to start a conversation with the noble, but founding him half naked and half dead in his tent demanded some answers. And she was dying of curiosity. "I…" she weakly started "I noticed you were not as… active as you usually were. Is there something that is troubling you?" her eyes peered from her soup and waited for Vikare eagerly for a response.

"Just not in a good mood" Vikare mumbled behind his bowl "I fiddle with my alchemy when I want to clear my mind. I'll be fine once we start moving again."

Revy stirred her spoon around the bowl. She wanted to know more, but was not sure how to approach the question. Several times she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out and she returned to spinning her spoon, thinking of a better way to formulate her questions.

Eventually it was Vikare who started, "We haven't been away from Stormwind for a week and already we have been ambushed." He finished his soup and put the bowl down. "You heard what that bandit said, he wanted me, but for what reason? Does he want to me for my nobility? Or do they know something about this artifact that we don't know? There are so many questions. If it is so important, should we inform the King? Or should we carry on and face whatever ahead of us by ourselves?"

Revy tried to take in the frantic flow of questions that came out of Vikare. He did have a point. It was too much of a coincidence that they were ambushed so early in the journey. Plus the bandits' motive was clear, and obviously too clear for just a random high-jacking heist. She looked at the man before him. He is clearly troubled by the event.

"What are you going to do? Would you like to turn back?" She asked hesitantly.

"Turn back?" Vikare glared at her "of course not! These bandits must know something about this artifact that they don't want others to find out, which is more the reason for us to uncover it." He picked up his pillow and tried to clean the blue smudge on it, "Who knows, it could be a useful tool for the Alliance's war effort. We can't just drop it because some men tried to scare us away."

Revy nodded and put her half-finished broth down. "But do you think we are able to handle the dangers ahead?"

Vikare suddenly laughed in his usually cheerful voice. It seemed to have lightened the mood in the tent instantly, and Revy felt herself relax, "Whatever we face, it will probably be no match for you." Unable to rub the blue smudge out of the pillow, he flung the item back onto the bed-roll, "You dealt with those scum like it was nothing. I know now why they spoke so highly of you."

The warrior smiled courteously, "I could not have done it without Grimwin and Theylandu. You have chosen your companions well sir."

Vikare grinned, "Humble Revlise, a rarity amongst heroes these days." With that he leant back onto the bed-roll and used his left hand to support his head.

For the first time during the night Revy became aware of the paladin's nakedness. Feeling the inappropriateness of her actions she quickly lowered her gaze and coughed awkwardly. She picked up her bowl then leaned forward for his, and stood up inside the tent. "I'm glad you are alright Sir Vikare. Please rest well; we have a big day tomorrow." She managed to finish while avoiding his eyes. Then with a quick bow, like the ones a servant would before her master, she left the tent.

Vikare lay there amused. She acted so much like a maid from her mannerism, yet she is as deadly as a drake at other times. _What a strange girl._

Outside Revy was heading towards the washing basin when a figure phased out of the shadow. Theylandu motioned for her to come closer. Curious of what the elf wanted, Revy obeyed.

"Still awake Theylandu?" she asked politely.

"You will too after you see what I found out." His voice seemed to be more serious than usual; something Revy thought was an impossible feat to achieve. Reaching into his tunic he retrieved a brown pouch, "I managed to sell most of the dead bandits' possessions, yet there are a few items the merchant did not want." He slowly began to open the pouch. "Among one of the item was a small brooch. The merchant did not want it because he said it was uniquely watermarked, which meant it belong to someone exclusively." He grabbed the brooch and showed it to Revy. "Now you may not recognize it, I didn't either. But I remembered seeing it somewhere, so I kept it just in case." His paused, watching her expression, "and earlier tonight I suddenly recalled where I saw it from." He handed the brooch and pouch to Revy and reached into his tunic again, this time pulling out a scroll. Taking the pouch back he handed the scroll to her. "Open it."

Revy watched Theylandu intensely, and then turned to open the scroll. Her eyes scanned purposefully down the scroll until they fixated on a particular area. Her expression froze, and her pulse quickened. Sensing her shock Theylandu continued, "This is my contract with Vikare Rocheforten when he hired me to travel with him. The family crest on the paper is an identical match to the one on the brooch. Now I'm guessing Vikare wouldn't send assassins wearing his family crest to kill himself, so it must be someone else from the family." Theylandu took the Brooch from her, "someone wanted our dear noble dead, someone close to him."

Revy's heart sunk, not wanting to believe this sudden change in events. _It all makes sense now; why the bandits attacked and the reason behind it. _She quickly turned her head to face the Elf. She couldn't form a coherent answer, but her eyes showed Theylandu everything she wanted to say.

The assassin scratched his temple and looked towards the full moon, "Tell him now, and he will want to rush back to Stormwind. If he does that he will just be walking to the enemy's den on a silver platter and will be dead within a week, and my payment would be forfeit. At least if he is out here, it will be harder for them to track him." He looked downed at the human next to him and took the brooch away from her. "Plus he will be around people he can trust… well, mostly everyone."

Revy's eyes tensed at the last part. She instinctively stepped back from the Elf and watched him cautiously. "What do you mean _mostly _everyone?"

"Everyone except you of course." Theylandu answered casually, his amber eyes finding the human's defensiveness amusing.

Revy gasped in utter disbelief, "Me? That is very insightful coming from the hired assassin who is only bound by the weight of the gold that will go into his pockets!"

A throaty laugh came from Theylandu. His constant scowl stretched across his face, forming a light smile, "Foolish girl, what do you think the nobles will do to me if they found Vikare dead around me? Being as infamous as myself, they would not spare a second thought about framing me regardless if I was guilty or not. I would be the perfect scapegoat." He regained his serious composure, "and I am no one's scapegoat. As for the Maris, he is too young to even want to be anywhere near court politics. And Grimwin? He has known Vikare since he was a child. He's been loyal to Rochforten house for most of his life, unlikely he will start turning now." He took a step towards the human, "That leaves you girl, _specifically picked _by the Alliance office to accompany Vikare. You are deadly in combat, and secluded outside it. I would say that little killing-spree you did was a pitch perfect cover to get closer to him yes?" Theylandu's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued to advance.

Revy couldn't believe what she was hearing. How can he start accusing her so suddenly without anything but a hunch? She barely knew Vikare to even think about killing him. Her heart started to beat frantically, partially because she was angry at this Elf before her and also at her inability to counter his argument.

"I barely know him…what reason do I have to kill him?" she shifted her arms, slowly dropping into a more defensive stance.

"I don't care girl. But what I do care about is myself." He stopped his advance and flung a dagger from his belt into his hand. "I am the most incriminating suspect should the noble die. So, for the sake of myself, I need him alive." With lightning speed he extended the dagger towards Revy. "So I will be watching you. If he dies, I'll be making sure his blood is smothered on that face of yours." He let the blade linger before her for a few seconds, and then dropped it. Theylandu gave her a wicked smile before sheathing the dagger and faded back into the shadows.

Revy stood along in the dark. The dinner bowls still clutched in her hands. Her mouth released a breath she didn't know she was holding and she tried to calm her nerves. But they refused to settle. Turning her head towards the sky she closed her eyes.

_This is going to be a long journey._


	8. Chapter 7

The next day the group started to travel once more. The horses they had acquired were a grateful addition in their journey. Grimwin had trouble with his horse and was content on riding with Maris, which drove the Mage crazy. The boy would complain about lagging behind due to the hairy, smelly anchor weight behind him, to which Grimwin only laughed and remarked something about the innocence of the young.

Vikare has also recovered from his gloomy stance and now back to his cheerful self. Revy realized this when the paladin decided to ask her about which kind of armour he should purchase the moment she opened her eyes the morning. He eventually settled with a set of reinforced half-plates after asking for her opinion repeatedly for over an hour.

Revy's mood on the other hand, was growing darker as the hours went. If she only had to deal with Vikare's constant bickering from the moment she woke up, she would have been able to persevere. But every time she turned around on her horse, Theylandu would be already watching her with those amber globes of his. Revy allowed herself an inward sigh. The Elf had followed up his threat from last night and started to keenly watch everything she did. When she went to wash, he would follow too. When she lined up to purchase breakfast, the tall Elf would be in the position behind her. Every time Vikare approached her, Revy could swear she could feel her eyes catching the reflective shine of the Elf's dagger as he crouched somewhere in the shadows, ready to poke her with it. This was driving Revy to the edge of her calm.

Unable to take it any longer, she let her horse slow its pace until she was next to Theylandu. She leaned over slightly, enough for whispers to be heard and not enough to reveal her intentions.

"Stop staring at me! I am not going to murder Vikare." She whispered all the while keeping her eyes in front of her.

"If you have nothing to hide, you should not be bothered by my examinations." The Elf replied with his head facing the road ahead.

"You're staring at me like a perverted stalker, who will NOT be bothered by that?"

"Don't flatter yourself human, you have nothing I find in value to pervert on."

Revy couldn't help but turn to look at Theylandu with the most disgusted face she could manage. "How you can still be a walking free and not locked in the Stockades is beyond me. But seriously stop eyeing me. You have no proof other than your unsupported hunch that I am any danger to Vikare." She slowly returned her head back into a straight position, then quickly leaned back to add "I didn't want this assignment anyways; the office conscripted me into this. Do you think I enjoy escorting nobles around Azeroth?"

Theylandu casually shrugged his shoulders, "from the way you served his dinner last night I would say you quite enjoy pleasing nobles."

The comment pierced through Revy's calm. She gritted her teeth and growled in frustration. She wanted to strike the arrogant Elf on her left but couldn't risk attracting attention. Theylandu seemed to recognise this and simply grinned down at her, provoking her further.

"I do NOT enjoy pleasing…" Revy silenced herself as she sensed a presence approaching.

At that moment a gallop came to the woman's right, followed by a familiar voice.

"Enjoy pleasing what?" Vikare motioned his horse next to the other riders.

"Yes, Revlise, please finish your sentence." Theylandu nodded at the woman, who was now red from a mixture of frustration and embarrassment.

"…No..nothing." Revy lowered her head, trying to hide her face from the two. "I enjoy nothing with you two around…" she muttered to herself. Picking up her reins, she kicked the horse, ordering it to gallop forward and move away from the two men.

Vikare watched the woman hurry away. He turned to look at Theylandu, who had an amusing smirk on his face. Vikare tried to ask him about what he said to her, but the Elf simply replied cryptically after a moment of contemplation, "Nothing that will do you harm."

The five travellers reached Thordin's wall at noon. Managing to sneak past a small Forsaken patrol, the group continued onwards down the road. But having barely dodged several Horde patrols they decided to travel along the river instead of following the road through to the Ruins of Alterac. Later into the afternoon the collection of individuals decided to make camp for the night. Grimwin began setting up the tents while Maris set to conjure a magical campfire. Vikare herded the horses to a nearby tree and then left to check their supplies. Theylandu simply sat under a tree, saying that he was not paid to perform manual chores. This brought him gazes of distaste from the rest.

Revy rummaged through her personal belongings. Satisfied with her gear, she dropped her shield from her shoulder onto the bag and stretched her stiff shoulders. She then proceeded to walk away from the camp when Vikare's voice ringed out behind her.

"Where are you going?" Vikare asked as he lifted his head from the journal he was writing in.

"Going to scout the surroundings, don't wait for me." The warrior replied without stopping her pace.

"What about dinner?"

"Cook it yourself!" Revy shouted annoyingly as the campsite disappeared out of view.

When she was quite distant from the campsite, Revy slumped down onto the soft grass. She let her weight drop her body flat on the ground and just listened to the calm shuffling of water down the stream. Closing her eyes she relaxed her senses.

What kind of sadistic prank were the higher powers playing on her? First she was given this boring escort mission, and then it turned into an assassination plot. Now she is suspected to BE the assassin! Revy wanted to just slap every male she had left back at camp across the face and just leave them to survive for themselves.

_Maybe I could take their equipment and leave only a sword behind for those idiots to fight each other with. _Revy smiled as her imagination took her mind into wide fantasies.

Taking a deep breath Revy stretched her limbs, and then shifted her head over her right arm. Suddenly the tiredness of the day tugged at her mind and she slowly drifted to sleep.

_The man appeared before her sub-consciousness again. The scene of his naked body pushing against a female form lit brightly in Revy's mind. The girl tried to scream against the image she was seeing before her, but her voice was gone. Then, like clockwork, the man turned his head towards her, his grin haunting the very sanity of Revy's mind. The girl screamed in desperation again, but she could not part her eyes from the man. _

_A sudden voice echoed through the dark abyss. It was a soft voice, yet it oozed with cruelty and sadism. Focusing on the voice Revy tracked it back to the man; he had stopped ravaging the body below him, and his left hand was on the naked woman's head._

"_I look forward to meeting you again, my little Revlise." With that the man turned his hand, and with it the woman's head turned also._

_Revy's shrieked at the top of her lungs as hey eyes came into contact with the naked woman's was hers. Her adult face looked back at her child form, eyes begging for mercy from the excruciating pain. The girl sobbed hysterically, sheer fear now overcoming her senses. The man laughed his high-pitched laugh, and it echoed through the darkness endlessly like a demonic church bell._

Revy jumped from grass instantly, her breath shallow and troubled. She stared blankly at the ground for a while, trying to make sense of her dream. _It's different this time. Yet it felt so real, like all the other ones. _She closed her mouth and took a deep gulp. Her forehead and undershirt were now moist with sweat. Her eyes looked around nervously. It was dark, and she felt scared of what was hiding in the shadows. But it wasn't the fear of wild animals, she feared the Man. The darkness was his domain, and the dream had made her paranoid.

_Come on Revlise, it was just a dream, no matter how real it felt. Get yourself together. The others depended on you. _Shaking her head several times, Revy picked herself, washed her face quickly in the stream and headed back.

When she made it back to the camp, everyone was gathered around the camp fire in an a circle. As she sat herself in the empty seat between Grimwin and Theylandu she noticed a strange smell coming from the pot before her.

"What is that smell?" Revy questioned with her hand lightly over her nose.

"Dinner!" Vikare exclaimed as he poured the liquid from the pot into an empty bowl, "You said cook yourself, and well, I saw the wisdom in those words. We must learn to prepare food for our survival. Who knows when our next cooked meal will be?" He merrily pranced towards her and handed Revy the bowl, "Enjoy while it's still hot." The paladin returned to his seat and picked up his bowl.

Revy held the bowl in her hands and looked down at it. It looked like the discretion of a mountain ogre, and almost smelt like it too. Shutting her mouth tight in an attempt not to throw-up instantly she turned to look at the group; all of them, including Vikare were looking at her expectantly with their own bowls in hands, as if wanting her to try it before they did so themselves. Revy glanced at her soup again, and slowly lifted her spoon up. Then, hesitantly, closed her eyes and dumped the spoon into her mouth. Using all her mental resilience, she forced herself to swallow in a loud gulp.

As quickly as the food went to down her throat, it quickly rushed back out. Unable to control herself, Revy bent to her left and spewed the soup out in an unchecked fashion. She coughed desperately, trying to get the taste out of her mouth.

The others watched as the female almost coughed her heart out, and then simultaneously dropped their plate on the ground and scattered away from the campfire all the while making excuses about not being hungry. Vikare examined his own bowl, and methodically pour it back into the pot, "All well, worth a try anyways. Men in my family were never good cooks. But we're good eaters though." He finished with an innocent chuckle.

Revy looked up at the paladin, her left hand holding her hair back while her right supported her body as she leant forward. She tried to give the most evil stare she could manage at the paladin, all the while panting heavily.

Sensing the wicked aura, Vikare moved to sit next to her, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed to her. "Well you did say cook yourself." He announced timidly.

Revy snatched the cloth from him and rubbed her mouth. "That doesn't mean poisoning everyone with that concoction." She lifted herself upright and regained her composure with a sigh.

Vikare feigned disappointment at her comment, "I spent the whole night brewing this delicious poison and that is all the appreciation you show? Which reminds me where have you been? Did you scout the _entire_ northlands while you were away?"

Feeling rather conflicted as to whether she should tell him she just fell asleep instead of scouting; Revy instinctively began to tidy the assortments of bowls around the campsite, leaving Vikare watching her strange habit. "I was just over the hill…enjoying the scenery." She mumbled as she busied herself.

Vikare smirked evilly. He had sent Theylandu to check on her in the afternoon. The Elf found her dozing soundly on the grass. The news made Vikare laugh; it was amusing to imagine the ever-serious Revlise sleeping so carelessly in the middle of Horde swarmed territory. If it was anyone else sleeping, she would probably whack them awake with a lecture about the constant dangers of the world around them. Using his arms to support him as he leant back, he watched the female clean the cooking mess he created. _She felt guilty for falling asleep and now she is trying to hide it. That's cute._ The paladin's mind jumped with excitement; eager to exploit as much entertainment out of the situation as possible.

"Oh? How was the scenery? It must have been really lovely for you to stay out there for _three_ hours." Vikare probed with a hidden grin.

"Oh well…" Revy's eyes raced frantically, trying to think of something to fuel her lie, "it really was. There were many fascinating things out there." She finished gathering the bowls and progressed to kneel and wash them in a water bucket next to the campfire. She peeked up quickly at Vikare, but seeing he was looking directly at her, covertly lowered her head.

"Tell me about those interesting things."

"There was… a turtle, and um…"

"You stared at a turtle for three hours!" Vikare couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out in laughter.

Revy shot him an angry glare, her face eyes and mouth twisted in irritation. She seriously considered throwing the hot pot of soup at him to burn that expression off. But decided it was best just to come clean; seeing that he already bested her pride.

"Fine, I confess, I FELL asleep. Your constant chatter and that Elf's perverted glare drained me of all my energy. Am I not allowed a simple _break_?" She spat out as she threw a bowl harshly down into the bucket, and in return it splashed her with a torrent of dirty water. Revy flinched as the water speckled her face, and Vikare's laughter soared even higher.

Finally snapping, Revy toppled the bucket with an exasperated shriek and stood up to looked furiously at Vikare who was rolling on the ground in hysteria. "I would rather watch a turtle swim upstream for three hours than have to deal with your constant bickering for another second. The same goes for that psychopathic Elf!"

Vikare slowly gathered himself, he looked at Revy before her; hey face was drenched, with several pieces of the soup running down her cheek. Her eyes peered down at him with rage. Wiping his tears from his eyes he tried to form a fluent sentence, "Easy Revlise, you were always so polite, what happened?"

"You happened!" she screamed, "You drive me to the edge of madness! I tried to be polite, but simply I rather kiss a Taunka than be civil with you. I don't think I've met a noble as irritating as you…and I have met many!" Revy panted as she vented her bottled frustration at him.

Vikare froze in his position ground. He finally made her snap. In a way he felt fulfilled that she reacted to him in a way other than her ordinary submissive tone, but it also made him feel sad; seeing her face like that. Pushing himself off the ground, and picking up the handkerchief that was discarded on the ground in the process he walked up to her, and tried to rub the water off her face. Instantly Revy backed away.

"What are you doing?"

"You got slime on your face." He replied calmly as he moved his hand forward once more.

Revy's eye followed the cloth as it moved down her cheek and traced the hardened cheek lines around her mouth. She was unsure what was going on; one moment he was laughing at her, the next he was cleaning her face.

"I'm still mad at you." She reminded him sternly.

"Who isn't" he chuckled, "why did you think my family so easily agreed for me to partake on this quest? I drove them all mad of course." He gave a weak smile as he moved the cloth to the other cheek.

Revy watched the change in expression in his eyes. A sudden ting of sadness crept through the sea of anger inside her. _His family sent him on this quest just to get rid of him? Or maybe they sent him away… _something clicked inside and the torrent rage suddenly dissipated.

"Stop," she whispered softly as she grabbed his hand. She looked at his eyes and saw confusion, "Who really made you take on this quest?"

Vikare hesitated, as if arguing against himself internally over something, "I did. But my father may have encouraged me to do so." He glanced the dark woman before him, "But my resolve is all mine. I did not do this for my father."

Revy gave him a concerned looked, "Vikare, you have no idea what you got yourself into."

Vikare's confused expression intensified, "What? What are you talking ab…"

A sudden flash appeared from the shadow behind him. Sensing danger Revy quickly pushed Vikare to the side. The arrow missed the noble's lung by an inch, but it traveled onwards and imbedded itself into her left shoulder.

Vikare recovered from the fall and saw Revy standing above him, clutching the arrow in her shoulder with her left hand and a pained expression on her face. She pulled her short-sword out with her right hand and moved to stand defensively around him. He heard her cry out Grimwin's name, and the dwarf appeared out of his tent. He looked at the wounded Revy, then at the shadowy figures as they approached the campfire. Grimwin grumbled as he picked up his rifle. He uttered only two words as he rushed to the woman's side.

"_Damn horde."_


	9. Chapter 8

Ferdruk was never one who favored charging into battle like a roaring barbarian. He enjoyed the slow act of systematically disabling the enemy; like pulling out the wings of a fly and watch it wither in agony. But seeing that most of the Horde military bands preferred charging in and frowned against unnecessary torture, he decided it was to his best interest to leave and form his own band of mercenaries, where his words were the law. He scanned his recently hired guerrillas as they waited above a hidden cliff. To his left was a troll named Trajin. He was a large purple troll with blue markings around his lean body. His tusks were short and splintered and he had a large scar than ran down from his right cheek down to his lips. Ferdruk didn't know him very well, but from what he has heard, the troll was a psychopath. Stories followed that he was causing too much ethical issues at Tol Barad because he kept cutting the toes of the Alliance prisoners. So the commanders kicked him out of the army and sent him to South shore, where hardly any Alliance remained. To the Orc leader a twisted troll like him was exactly who he wanted; someone with morals as demented as his and wouldn't question him when limbs started to fly. To his right was a Tauren named Churikie. The Tauren was largely built, like most of his kin. His body was covered in a dark brown coat of fur. Over the top he wore a pair of chained greaves and a thick iron breastplate. Churikie was a warrior who was looking for work in a tavern. Ferdruk asked for an extra set of hands for his warband and he volunteered himself. The Tauren was an out-spoken fool. He was loud, and proud to of it. Normally a bulking clown like him would have died long ago in a ditch most likely due to the chance of offending the wrong person, but lucky for him, he was rather skilled with his greatsword, and no one was brave or skilled enough to shut him up.

Next to Churikie was a small orc called Shurag. He was stationed in Tauren mill before he deserted and became a freelancer. An old veteran, the orc compensate his lack of size with his tremendously accurate bowshot. If ordered to hit an organ, the old orc could skewer someone without breaking a sweat. The four soldiers of Horde lay in silence above the campfire below. Ferdruk had made a count several minutes ago; two Human, a Dwarf and a Night Elf. The humans looked weak, but the Dwarf and Elf carried themselves with battle experience. _They reported five, so where is the fifth? _

Ferdruk has been hearing reports of a band of Alliance individuals heading through Arathi Highlands. Normally he wouldn't use so much effort to chase them down, but someone was paying handsomely to for the individual who killed one particular Human. Apparently a group of mercenaries had already tried to take the reward, but ended up having themselves slaughtered.

_Amateurs, that's what you get for stealing my bounty._

Ferdruk had followed the group for two days now. Unlike the dead bandits, he was careful; not rushing ahead, waiting and advancing just out of detection. He would love to just charge in and bash those Alliance's head in, but he knew he was facing some skilled enemies and doing that would just leave him dead.

A movement came into view. Ferdruk lowered himself and tried to see who it was through the bushes; it was a Human female. She sat down next to the Dwarf and Elf, and the paladin target was talking to her. Ferdruk smiled, _that makes five._ He lifted his hand to signal his soldiers. His fellow mercenaries tensed; their weapons ready in hand.

Revy watched the Horde intently as they appeared into the light of the campfire. The center Orc carried a hand-axe in both each hand. His leather armor was thick, with reinforced plates on his shoulders. The Tauren warrior to his left was a hulking giant. He carried a large mace over his shoulder; and a great-sword on his back. The Troll spun his spear through the chunky digits on his hand, his eyes showing a savage need to slaughter. The smaller Orc's face was stern. He held his bow by his side, but had an arrow in hand, ready for combat.

Together they looked intimidating. And Revy knew they outnumbered her group in both size and skill. She turned to check on Vikare, who now had scurried back near Maris and Theylandu and made a defensive circle near the river. She turned to her right; Grimwin already had his gun cocked, and his pet Argo next to him.

"We won't be able to face them like this Grimwin," she hurried as the mercenaries edged closer.

"What do you suggest lass?" Grimwin's face was dead serious, his finger unmoving just above the trigger.

Revy glanced at Vikare. He had no idea what he got himself into, no idea that his family probably sent him out to die. She then scanned Maris, who was tense and nervous. _I can't just let those two innocent people die_.

"Take Vikare and Maris and head north, there should be an Alliance camp there. I'll stay behind and hold them off as long as I can" Revy announced slowly at her Dwarven companion.

"What? Are you drunk lass?" Grimwin bellowed.

The pain of the arrow was beginning to rush through her body, "If we all run they would just chase us down with ease. If we fight, it will put Vikare in dangers way. They will no doubt use the fact we need to protect him to their advantage. We can't win if we have to constantly watch over Vikare, and maybe Maris as well. She winced at the pain, "I'll cover you while you cross the river. Once you are clear, hide your tracks, in case they chase after you."

Grimwin looked at the woman with distress, "You are mad, they will cut you down in seconds!"

Revy glanced down at the dwarf and gave a weak smile. "I'll be fine, they look like standard skirmishers, nothing I haven't faced before; just a day at work." And with that she motioned him to move on.

Vikare watched as Grimwin exchanged some words with Revy . He couldn't hear the conversation, but could tell from the dwarf's face that it wasn't good. Finally Grimwin spun and raced towards them. He saw him giving a nod to Theylandu, who seemed to have understood the meaning. Turning to him, the Elf spoke comfortingly to Vikare as he began to push him into motion "Time to go noble. Hold your cousin close; we have a long run ahead."

"What? What about Revlise?" Vikare yelled as he frantically struggled against the Elf.

"She is going to do her job, which is to protect you. You should make sure her effort was not made in vain." Theylandu answered as he dragged the paladin behind him.

"Let her be lad, this is what she think is right." Grimwin added to ease the paladin. Next to Vikare, Maris looked at him with alarm now realizing the decision they had made.

"No! We can't just leave her, she will be slaughtered!" Vikare's struggle renewed, but Grimwin came to help Theylandu grab hold of him, and together jumped into the river.

Ferdruk watched as the four men retreated into the river with mild irritation. He tracked them for two weeks days straight and when he confronts them they decide leave a woman behind to fight and run like cowards. He has put too much effort into this just to let that paladin slip away.

"Shurag, go bring that dwarf down, we can't be letting him drag our prize away." The orcish leader ordered.

Shurag, nodded, and notched the arrow on his bow and took aim. With a flick of his finger, the arrow sped towards Grimwin. But before the projectile even managed to make its way close to the river, Revy had dashed in front of its path. Tensing her body, she caught the arrow with her body. It landed several inches from the where original one hit her body. Revy staggered back a few steps, and then steadied her eyes and glared at the archer defiantly.

"Hmm, tough little bitch isn't she?" The Trajin remarked while licking his pierced lips.

"More like dumb. She thinks she can hold four of us with that wounded body of hers. Let's bash some intelligence into that brain." Churikie snorted as he bounced his mace on his shoulder.

Ferdruk glanced across the river at the escaping four; they were already to the other side. If he didn't chase them now, they will surely become more difficult to track in darkness of night. Additionally, now that they know he was following them, the Alliance group would most likely take extra precautions to not be seen. Needing to make a decision now, he turned to the Tauren to his right, "Go take care of the girl. Shurag, barrage that group with your bow, Trajin go after them on foot."

Shurag smirked as he pulled out several arrows from his quiver and notched it onto his bow, ready to fire. Trajin complained at Ferdruk about always being the one that have to get wet in his troll language, but he jogged towards the river nonetheless.

The pain in Revy's left shoulder was becoming unbearable. But it was a small sacrifice to pay to protect her companions. She eyed the horde securely as the leader barked something incoherent in orcish. Then the archer started to aim his bow while the troll moved towards the river to her left. Ahead of her, a large hunk of Tauren hair and muscles walked towards her.

Despite her battle experiences, having a Tauren advancing towards still unsettled her a little, more so now considering her wounded shoulder has disabled major movements in her left arm. Revy doubt she could hold her shield in her state.

_This isn't going to be good. I can't let that archer or the troll get to them._

Dropping to a kneeling position Revy stabilized her breathing. Closing her eyes she replayed a visual plan in her mind, then flashed her dark orbs at the Tauren and charged foward. Not expecting the woman to charge at him, Churikie did not have time to react. In a second Revy was within blades reach and jumped to him. He managed to bring the shaft of his mace down before him just in time to block a swipe from the Human. However, as if predicting his hasty defense, the woman recovered quickly. Rolling in midaid Revy landed her feet on the shaft of the mace. Pushing herself off the metal rod she changed direction and began to charge at the archer. Churikie fell on the ground from the momentum of the female's bounce. Lifting his head up he saw Shurag caught unexpectantly by the Human warrior. The veteran tried desperately to parry her flurry of thrusts with his bow, but eventually a strike went through unchecked. Shurag's eyes widened as the blade pierced his chest. He dropped his bow and fell onto the ground, and bled to death moments later.

Revy didn't have the luxury of time to watch the life in the old orc's eyes fad into darkness. Landing on the ground next to Shurag she quickly spun around and faced the troll in the distance. Trajin has just reached the shore and began to weave his way into the river. Feeling spent from exerting a majority of her energy in producing those swift charges, she resorted to running as fast as she could towards Trajin. But before she could reach the troll Churikie stepped into Revy's vision; his mace already slamming down towards her.

Gasping, Revy quickly leaped from the blow as the mace landed into the ground, producing an explosion of dirt. Landing roughly on her left shoulder Revy let out a small cry of pain. Before she could recover, a giant hoof hovered above her. Revy rolled right as the hoof stomped down, followed by another great smash from the mace. Revy tumbled and dove repeatedly underneath the giant Tauren, unable to find a break in his relentless assault. Eventually she managed to go through his thick legs and climb up his back. Lifting her blade high she stabbed down at Churikie's back once she found a footing on his thick mane. The large mace-wielder roared in pain, and tried to jiggle the woman off. Revy lost her balance for a moment, but recovered and hugged at Churikie's back, trying not to be dislodged. Once the shaking had stopped she pulled her blade out and lifted it for another strike, but a giant hand grappled her right arm and flung her over and across the campsite, almost dislocating her right shoulder in the process. Revy crashed onto the ground and rolled several times before stopping. She gasped in agony as the manoeuvre snapped the two arrows and pushed the imbedded splinters deeper into her wound. Lifting herself weakly she glanced at the river. She had been thrown in the complete opposite direction she had wanted to go. The river now sat behind the colossal Tauren, whose face was now showing signs of pain.

Then from the distance a gunshot sounded. Trajin cried out and suddenly disappeared under the water. The commotion caused everyone ashore to turn and look. Grimwin had managed to release a shot just as they made it onto shore. Trajin vanished under the water for a minute, and then emerged with a loud cry. The bullet had punched past the side of his head, leaving a gaping wound, but it was not fatal. However it did give the crucial spacing Grimwin had wanted from the troll to make their escape. Picking up a tired Vikare and Maris with Theylandu, the four raced into the darkness.

Ferdruk growled in annoyance. Even if Trajin continued, he wouldn't have been able to catch them with a bleeding wound on his head. _So they really did escape, just my luck. _He lifted his hand to whistle at the troll, who upon hearing the call, turned his soaking body around and limped back to shore.

Ferdruk focused his attention at the collapsed female before him, who now showed a look of relief on her worn face. This bitch cost him his reward, and he planned to use her to vent his frustration.

"Churikie, you can toy with her, but I want her alive and in one piece when I've finished mending Trajin up, got it?" the large Tauren grunted in acknowledgement and advanced towards the wounded human.


	10. Chapter 9

Vikare hurried behind a running Grimwin, who seemed to have gained a substantial amount of stamina out of nowhere. Behind him was Theylandu with Maris under his long arms. He had never felt so useless in his entire life. He watched in desperation as Revy battled the horde by herself. He screamed out her name when he saw her slender body thrown across the air like a ragdoll. He begged his companions to let him go, but all of his outbursts were met with silence. The four have been running non-stop since they crawled out of the river. It has been roughly 20 minutes, and the sound of rushing water had disappeared from his eyes.

"Please, we must stop." Vikare begged once again.

"Not until we are at Chillwind camp." Grimwin responded between huffs.

"We can't just leave her like that! Dammit!"

Silence rang across the four travellers.

"We're just going to let her die like that?"

Grimwin glanced back slightly, his face angry, "grow up lad, Revlise is taking responsibility and protecting all of us. Ye can at least play your part and be safe so she didn't die for nothing."

Vikare halted in his track, his chest heaving for breath from the run. He waited until the group all stopped and were watching him. "She is not going to die." He glared at the dwarf with determination and persistence, "She is _MY _responsibility. I dragged her into my quest and I'm going to make sure she is alive when I finish my quest." He slammed his hammer into the ground in frustration and stared at it as it lay still in the ground. "And if she was killed by those horde because she wanted to protect me, I don't think I can live with myself" Vikare finished quietly.

Grimwin sighed deeply, he glanced at Theylandu behind the paladin; strangely the mercenary showed a hint of concern for their female companion. Next to him Maris had his hands on his legs as fought against exhaustion, but his eyes shared the same feeling.

The dwarf turned back at the paladin, who stared backed him with an eager and serious expression. _Damn lass, you sure left a pretty good impression on this motley band of people. _He thought to himself amusingly.

"Alright lad, ye made yer point. Let's go save yer little princess."

Revy panted heavily as she supported herself on her right knee. Scratches and bruises scattered around her battered body. The Tauren had been trying to bash her in with that damned mace of his for what seemed to her like an eternity. She has managed to avoid every swing, but it was draining her energy. Several times she had tried to counter-attack, but her wounded state made her attacks clumsy and predictable. _If only I could get to my shield and didn't have two damn arrows lodged in my shoulder, this Tauren wouldn't be so cocky. _Revy's tried eyes glanced at the two figures behind the mace-wielder; the orc was bandaging the Troll's head. She could see the irritation on the leader's face, probably reprimanding his companion for getting shot in the head. Turning back into the fight Revy managed to dodge a mace swing just in time. Landing a distance away from the weapon, she tried to hold herself upright, but her legs gave, dropping her on the ground on all fours. Revy huffed for air; her muscles were stretched to their limit. Her left arm was now completely unmovable without causing excruciating pain racing through her shoulder.

Tilting her head she checked on the Tauren. He was panting quite heavily too. The wound on his back has started to weaken his strength. Plus he had been swinging that massive mace of his non-stop for prolonged amount of time, and it was beginning to tire him. Churikie grunted in irritation; the human was surprisingly agile for someone with two gaping holes in her shoulder. Every time he felt he had managed to corner her, she always seemed to find a way to miraculously dodge his blow and escape unharmed. Churikie narrowed his eyes, he can sense her nearing the edge of her energy, but he wasn't in much better shape either.

_Gonna have to finish this soon, can't let a pin size of a woman take the best of me. _Churikie thought as he lifted his mace again. With a piercing roar he swung his weapon once more. The woman rolled her crouching body backwards, and the mace thumped into the ground. Following up his strike Churikie ran forward to kick the woman, who had moved to a kneeling position and guarded her face with her right arm while the left limply protected her chest. The impact knocked away her balance, and the female stumbled and fell back on her backside. Taking the opportunity Churikie pulled the great-sword from behind and quickly executed a downward slash. The woman panicked and lifted her short-sword up horizontally to block the blow, but her right arm alone was not strong enough to resist the power and the Tauren's blade swept down, ricocheting her blade away and cutting down her right side and part of the right thigh. The woman cried in pain, and instinctively crawled to cuddle her mutilated right arm with her body. She then turned and flashed at the Tauren with tortured eyes. Her teeth clenched like a vice trying to resist the pain. Churikie spat at the ground next to the bleeding human. He was now at the point of exhaustion himself. The only thing he wanted was to ram his great-sword through her heart. _Ferdruk can go rot as far as I care, I'm not doing all the work just to let him take the thrill of the kill off me. _Lifting his blade over his head one final time, Churikie prepared to push the metal down.

What transpired next felt like it was in slow-motion. Churikie watched as he pushed his blade down. But as soon as the blade moved, Revy's left leg flung up and kicked the flat of the sword. The force redirected the blade's course up and it stuck itself into the ground by the woman's head. Taking the chance Revy reached out for her disarmed short-sword to her left. Picking it up Revy sat herself underneath the Tauren and stabbed his right kneecap. Churikie howled in agnoy and slumped down, leaning on the great-sword for support. Not wasting any time Revy let the short-sword rest in the leg and went to grab the hilt of the giant blade and pulled it under the Tauren. The great-sword titled and eventually freed itself from the ground as the woman dragged it directly beneath her enemy. Losing the support of the sword, Churikie fell forward. He looked down under him; his great-sword was suspended just before him with the blade's edge facing upwards. Not wanting to slit his own throat he opened his hands to let the blade drop on the ground. Time past and the sword remained in suspension. Panicking he shifted his eyes towards the hilt, and pure panic rushed through him.

Around the long hilt was a slender feminine hand. Revy held onto the great-sword as the Tauren fell forward. Keeping her grip, she jumped around the falling body and landed herself on Churikie's back again. Settling herself on his lower back she let gravity push her down. The Tauren's head let out a short cry before the suspended great-sword decapitated him. The headless body landed on the ground with Revy resting on top. Once she was sure the Tauren's body had stopped shaking she released her grip on his giant sword, and allowed herself to drop next to the corpse. Revy took a minute to catch her breath and let her logical mind catch up with her.

_Was sacrificing your right arm trying to lure him into an opening really the BEST strategy you could think of? _Revy weakly smiled at herself, rather satisfied at the success of her reckless plan, _Better than dying. Plus I couldn't have done much with that arm anyways._

She allowed herself to rest for a moment longer before gradually lifting herself slowly from the ground, gripping her tattered arm in the process. Steadying herself once she stood upright Revy looked up before her; Ferdruk stood a short distance away with a calculating look on his face and two hand axes ready for battle.

Revy moaned inwardly at her rotten luck,

_Give me a break…_


	11. Chapter 10

Ferdruk watched in sheer astonishment at the sight before him. One moment Churikie was about to go against his order and kill the woman himself, the next the girl had executed a set of flawless movements ending with removing the hulking Tauren's head from his shoulders. Never in his life has he witnessed anything as skilled as that warrior before him. His mind couldn't help but wonder how powerful she would be if she was not ambushed by arrows and dressed in her regular armour and equipment. Ferdruk spied on the girl as she sat above his dead companion; her body covered in blood and dirt and her face perfectly calm. She fascinated him, like a dark-skinned guardian angel sacrificing her body to protect those in need. Ferdruk wanted to her, and he longed to pull out her wings.

Walking towards the battle scene he saw her drop out of sight behind Churikie's huge body, only to recover moments later with a small smile on her face. Upon noticing him the smile disappeared. Ferdruk watched her expression change from a look of frustration to one of expectance. She knew she was in no state to fight him and decided to just stand there clutching her right arm, waiting for Ferdruk to make the first move. When he didn't react the human looked at him with a confused face. After a short staring contest the woman slowly moved her mouth, and produced a poorly accented orcish word.

"He..llo" she managed in orcish

"Hello." Ferdruk replied casually

The human thought for a while, then began again, "Why attack..us?"

"Gold"

"Oh…G..uld" the human repeated to herself, her head lowering. "Want, …pa..la..din?"

"That was the plan. But you ruined that didn't you." Ferdruk nodded at the river behind her, and then pointed at her, making sure she understood what he meant.

The woman turned away, hey eyes showing sadness. Ferdruk noticed the slender warrior tensing the hold around her right arm. After a while she spun back to face him, her eyes marked with anticipation.

"What, now…. _Kill_ me? The woman pronounced the last two words voiced with better pronounciation.

Ferdruk shrugged his shoulders, "You're almost dead already, no point in that. You cost me a job, so I plan to make sure you compensate me." He took a step forward, which instantly made the woman stumble back a step.

Leaning over Churikie's body, Ferdruk pulled the short-sword out of his knee, and then tossed it roughly at the ground next to the woman. Revy glanced down at the blade for a second, and then hesitantly picked it up with her right hand. She regarded the Orc before him with tiredness. Giving her a sword is not going to make her fight any different; she was at her limit, and the blood loss was beginning to cloud her vision.

Launching him towards the female, Ferdruk raised his right axe for an initial slash. The Human managed to block it, but she staggered backwards as she lost balance. Using his left axe Ferdruk slashed again. The woman tried to dodge it but the blade connected with her waist, slicing a deep cut across her stomach.

Moaning in pain Revy staggered back once more, this time with her blade hand around her stomach. She crouched on the ground; blood oozed profusely from her abdomen. She gritted her teeth and watched the Orc in desperation as he advanced towards him. Grunting deeply she picked herself up again, and faced her enemy with feeble defiance. Ferdruk lurched again, and Revy tried her best to parry the flurry of deathly metal. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before a swing sneaked passed her outstretched defences and imbedded itself into her right knee. The Human screamed in agony, and dropped her blade before collapsing completely onto the ground.

Ferdruk watched the bloodied body quivering on the ground before him. The thrust into her leg seemed to have destroyed her fighting spirit entirely. She now cuddled her limp body on the ground; her eyes clenched shut at the sheer agony that pulsed through her slim form. Bending over Ferdruk tried to reach for her, but was taken by surprised when she suddenly jerked away. Grinning that she still had the boldness to resist him he crawled forward towards her slowly, and in return she scattered back from him, leaving a damp trail of blood on the grass. He chased her for a few meters before the last drop of her strength dissipated and the female limply collapsed on the ground with a defeated sigh. Ferdruk dropped on all fours and crawled until he was directly above the Female. He positioned his dark eyes just before hers, and waited till she turned at him. When she eventually did, he dropped his axe and fixed his large hands around her soft neck. Ferdruk watched with sadistic joy as her eyes enlarged in shock as his grip tightened around her throat. The fear, the helplessness and desperation from her face aroused him deeply. Toying with his prey he lightened the grip slightly, taking in the woman's brief gasp of relief before shutting her throat again. Ferdruk leaned in next to her dark face, and listened eagerly at the soft gasps for air creeping out of her opened mouth.

Revy pushed frantically with her right hand, trying to push the heavy Orc off her. But her strength had long left her. She eyed the Orc before her; there was pure joy and excitement as he choked her to death. Her minds wondered how cruel the world must have been to this Orc for him to become the monster he was now. Darkness crept around the corner of her eye. Revy knew this was the end for her, and began to lament on the things she would leave behind; her few friends, her Captain, whom she had grown to rely on like a step-father, and oddly enough, her favourite food, pan-sizzled chicken. Eventually her mind came to Grimwin, who was showing more and more to be the wise dwarf of his age. She imagined Maris, who represented the young in her group, full of energy and potential. Then she thought about Theylandu, the mysterious elf whom she still couldn't fully figure out. Lastly her fading mind turned to the paladin that made her life so miserable. The image of the naïve and idiotic Vikare grinning at her carelessly appeared in the darkness of her mind, and as she prepared to slip into the void, her mind relaxed.

_I'm going to miss you the most, idiot._

Suddenly the death' grip around her neck loosened. Revy watched as the Orc above her flew back in silence. A split second later an echoing gun blast expectantly followed the bullet. Revy tried to turn her head to the direction of the sound, but her mind was too weak, and her body broken. Unwillingly her eyes closed themselves and forced her into unconsciousness.

Grimwin's eyes did not leave his rifle scope until that barbaric Orc's body was completely off Revy's limp figure. Satisfied seeing the Orc hit hard ground, he raced down the hill he was sniping on and gathered next to his three companions who were waiting eagerly by the river.

"Alrighty Maris, time for ye to shine." The dwarf ordered with his eyes scanning keenly across the river.

The young mage nodded obediently, and lifted his staff before the river. With a quick whisper of a few words the staff shot up in a globe of blue that hovered about the mage. Pointing the staff tip at the water the globe launched itself towards the water, freezing a straight line across the river.

Satisfied with the ice bridge he created, Maris stepped forward, his eyes tense as he moved across the water. Next to him, Theylandu had already started sprinting to the other side, his daggers ready in hand. Grimwin whistled at his pet wolf and treaded accordingly across the ice quickly. Behind the mage Vikare stood hesitantly for a second, his face fixed with a dark expression as he eyed the Orc who was strangling Revy. Then as if something snapped inside, he charged forward, roaring at the top of his voice.

On the other side, Ferdruk had recovered from bullet that landed inside his chest and stood waiting for the newcomers. The shot was accurate, but from such a distance it lacked the power to kill. However it did manage to distract him and save that girl from a broken neck. With a short motion of his head to his companion, Trajin, who had been recovering soundly by the campfire stood up and positioned himself next to his leader.

"Now this interesting," He picked up his axes around Revy's body and pointed at the Dwarf and the Elf. "I'll handle those two, you get the two humans. And remember, the large one is our target. I want an identifiable face so don't go all psycho on him."

Trajin sighed and shifted the bandages that covered his left eye and the gash next to it, "I can hardly see with da bandage on mon. But I see what I can do" With that he charged forward, intercepting the paladin before he could reach the Orc.

Ferdruk followed the troll, charging towards the Dwarf and the Elf. The Dwarf fired a shot from his rifle while in motion. Ferdruk ducked right as the bullet whizzed past and jumped to meet the blade of the Elf. Using his free hand he swung his off-hand axe, but the Elf skipped backwards and avoided his strike. Positioning for a counter-attack Theylandu leaped forward, and unleashed a flurry of stabs at the Orc. Ferdruk quickly switched to a defensive stance and tried to stop the incoming blows. Just at that moment, a dire wolf lurched itself towards his face. Grunting furiously Ferdruk managed to hold onto the wolf as it pushed him on the ground. As they landed he used the momentum to launch the animal off him and performed a back-roll to return upright. Turning his attention again at the Elf Ferdruk suddenly caught sight of the dwarf standing inches away from him, his long-sword poised to skewer his stomach.

Parrying the strike quickly Ferdruk jumped backward, trying to produce space between him and the two attackers. Glancing to his left, he saw Trajin being ganged by the two humans. The paladin was swinging his hammer madly at the half-blind troll. Between the hammer strikes, the short mage was flinging bolts of ice towards the Troll. Ferdruk grimaced as one of the bolt hit Trajin's left leg, freezing it in position. Taking the opportunity the paladin ran up, and slammed his hammer into the ice; shattering it and the Troll's leg into a million pieces. Trajin screamed out in pain, and tried to retaliate by throwing his spear at the small mage. The spear sped towards Maris, but just as it was about to hit the target, the mage released a frost barrier. The spear froze as it imbedded itself into the shield. Limping on one leg Trajin pulled out a tiny dagger from his belt and jumped towards Vikare. The paladin, seemingly still in an anger fueled frenzy, rushed forward to meet the attack. Shouting a holy spell Vikare encased his weapon in a bright yellow aura, and swung it towards the Troll. The hammer flew past Trajin's blindspot unchecked and connected with his head. A sickening crunch filled the air as the Troll flew back, and crashed lifelessly on the ground.

Ferdruk grunted in amusement at his sudden change of luck. Moments ago it was his four companions facing a lone woman. Now he stood before the woman's four companions; all equally angry and wanting to tear him to pieces. He looked at his adversaries; He could probably kill the paladin and maybe the mage if he could get close enough. But the Dwarf and the Elf, seeing that both were in healthy condition, would probably kill him without a sweat if they teamed up. Realizing the direness of his situation he glanced down at the woman's body; she now rested next to the Dwarf and the Elf.

_Damn, I can't even finish her off just for kicks. _Ferdruk smiled at himself.

With a roar, the Orc charged barbarically at the four; throwing all strategies and plans out of his mind for one final assault.


End file.
